why me......

[mgloop9656]

well i went to bed and awoke to a chilly 57 degrees in my house. when i checked the thermostat it stated that the power to the unit was off. so i checked the breaker, good to go, so i got out the ladder and crawled up in the attic. somehow my disconnect box melted. i just purchased my house last spring and over the summer had to have the warranty company come out and work on the unit and part of the work was on the disconnect box....i have no idea what the tech could have done...i bypassed the disconnect until in the morning when lowes opens. it would cost me $50 for them to come out and the box should only cost $25-30 so ill rewire it myself. its just the frustrations of everything and it seems that lately i have had a series of misfortunate events.

[OneDummHikk]

That sucks. Hopefully Lowes will have it and it will be cheaper than what the warranty company would charge. But, if you do it yourself, what part of the warranty will it void?

[Doug1]

Hopefully you can get it back up to code easy enough. I would be all over the outfit that did the last repair, thats not a good thing

[know-it-all]

Originally Posted by mgloop9656

well i went to bed and awoke to a chilly 57 degrees in my house. when i checked the thermostat it stated that the power to the unit was off. so i checked the breaker, good to go, so i got out the ladder and crawled up in the attic. somehow my disconnect box melted. i just purchased my house last spring and over the summer had to have the warranty company come out and work on the unit and part of the work was on the disconnect box....i have no idea what the tech could have done...i bypassed the disconnect until in the morning when lowes opens. it would cost me $50 for them to come out and the box should only cost $25-30 so ill rewire it myself. its just the frustrations of everything and it seems that lately i have had a series of misfortunate events.

Dude, that sucks

[VWD]

What a bummer, a least no fire was started by the over heating of the box,

[know-it-all]

I can share my home buying experience

the basement flooded 2 days after we closed
forcing us to remodel over the summer

[mgloop9656]

Originally Posted by OneDummHikk

That sucks. Hopefully Lowes will have it and it will be cheaper than what the warranty company would charge. But, if you do it yourself, what part of the warranty will it void?

hows the warranty company going to find out i did it myself.
and i used to remodel/build/wire houses and it is extremely simple. the box cost me less than the service fee for them to come out. they charge $50 to come out but everything thereafter is free.

[Doug1]

Originally Posted by mgloop9656

hows the warranty company going to find out i did it myself.
and i used to remodel/build/wire houses and it is extremely simple. the box cost me less than the service fee for them to come out. they charge $50 to come out but everything thereafter is free.

Well if you drag them out to make good on a repair they made and it's already replaced, they will try to weazel out of liability. If something that basic went bad, what else in the heating system was shortcutted? That would be my concern. It's good that you are skilled in dealing with stuff like this, because component failure never happens at an opportune time, but if you have to deal with something like your disconnect failure, take pics before repairing and save the part, notify the warrenty people, even if it's just to establish a paper trail showing that there are/were issues should something major happen later

[mgloop9656]

well the trip to lowes cost me $18. i dont know how it happened but it did. and heres a pic of it.

i just opted not to go through the headache of calling them. last time it took 6 weeks to get my system fixed. i would persue it but i will be getting a new system in the near future. one of my dads good friends owns his own heating and air company. they are going to drive up here and install a brand new system for me. i just have to buy the unit which he gets at a great price. he told me he could get one for around $1500 new. i just have to buy the unit and a case of beer.

[Rick O]

Do you have aluminum wires in that box? If so be sure to use an oxide inhibiting compound on the wire at the connection. And the connection must be tight. Heat buildup from a loose connection most likely caused the connection to burn up.

[mgloop9656]

Originally Posted by Rick O

Heat buildup from a loose connection most likely caused the connection to burn up.

yeah, i figured out that the job was half @$$ when i took the old box out. i pulled the wires straight out without having to loosen anything. the guy didnt even use box connectors....

[Doug1]

Originally Posted by mgloop9656

yeah, i figured out that the job was half @$$ when i took the old box out. i pulled the wires straight out without having to loosen anything. the guy didnt even use box connectors....

Ouch, glad thats all that was damaged

[Loverotties]

Where they the right size fuses?

[mgloop9656]

Originally Posted by Loverotties

Where they the right size fuses?

yes and no. it was a 30 amp box and had 30 amp fuses. it was supposed to be a 60amp box. i guess thats all they had on the truck when they came out last time.

[Doug1]

Originally Posted by mgloop9656

yes and no. it was a 30 amp box and had 30 amp fuses. it was supposed to be a 60amp box. i guess thats all they had on the truck when they came out last time.

Oh for crying out loud I am not one to run out and get a lawyer and sue over any imagined slight, but that really smacks of piss poor workmanship and gross negligence, had you not been lucky that it just killed power to the furnace, this could have been a lot worse , glad you caught it